Johnathan Paoli
THE Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa and said that aside from the urgent need for policing devolution, the spike in gender-based violence (GBV) and child kidnapping and murder across the country as a whole required urgent attention and a more specialised approach.
In a letter written as a Member of Parliament on Saturday, Steenhuisen condemned what he called the lack of action on the part of the government to address the spiraling crime rate in South Africa, despite numerous pleas from communities across the country.
This follows the recent shooting incident that took place in Pienaar Street in the Helenvale suburb of Gqeberha last week, which left two wounded and three dead, including a three-year-old boy.
The leader of the opposition said that in the Nelson Mandela bay, DA public representatives have written twice to Police Minister Bheki Cele requesting the deployment of national specialised units to tackle the rise of gangsterism and related crime in the area.
Steenhuisen said that between 2021 and 2023, more than 88% of all gang violence in Nelson Mandela Bay occurred in the Northern areas, and that over this period, 361 gang-related shooting incidents were reported, with 319 of them being in the Northern Areas, resulting in the loss of 180 lives, 22 of whom were children.
He said that last year alone, there were 78 murders per 100 000 people and that the murder rate increased by 37%, with 45 people having been killed since the beginning of this year.
READ: DA’s Steenhuisen accuses ANC of gaslighting South Africans
Furthermore, the DA leader said last year, 871 children were murdered, many of whom were caught in the crossfires of gang-related violence and crime that is on the increase in communities across the country.
“The inability of the SAPS to tackle successive crime waves in South Africa and ensure the safety of all citizens as per the Bill of Rights, should be of utmost concern to you and your government. Despite each and every pledge and promise made throughout the duration of your term as President, neither you nor Minister Cele have made any progress in addressing South Africa’s status as one of the world’s crime capitals,” he said.
The DA leader called on the President to facilitate the establishment of: specialised courts to deal with GBV, child and gang-related crimes; specialised units within the SAPS to focus on these crimes; and dedicated capacity and resources within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prioritise and fast track the prosecution of those facing these type of crimes.
Steenhuisen called on the President to not turn a blind eye to the growing threat to communities and that every South African has the right to live in a safe environment.
“You owe it to each and every citizen to do this, to ensure that we will never again suffer the heartbreak endured by Emilio Hutchinson’s tragic and untimely death,” he said.
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